The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
It is known that homeowners and owners of commercial properties need to disperse an assortment of particulate or granular items or materials such as grass seed, snow and ice melting products such as rock salt and calcium chloride, lawn care products such as fertilizer and weed control product, and other such materials during the course of care and upkeep of property. Typically, a property owner will use a walk-behind, wheeled mechanical device for dispersing these substances. There exist two basic types of walk-behind spreaders, (1), so-called “drop” spreaders that disperse product only directly below a material storage hopper and between the wheels; and, (2), broadcast spreaders, which fling product outward in a wide pattern from below the hopper.
Drawbacks of both types of walk-behind spreaders include that they are often heavy and/or cumbersome, and are hard to store; are often subject to mechanical wear and malfunction are difficult or impossible to use on uneven surfaces and in tight or confined areas; and, are useless for treating ice on stairs, steps and door stoops.
The broadcast variety is unusable to de-ice sidewalks and paths because the product would be flung also onto lawns, causing damage, or into streets, causing waste. The uncontrolled pattern of the broadcast spreaders makes it hard to fertilize and “weed control” lawns without either excessive or inadequate overlap of multiple “passes,” or possibly casting product where it may cause harm (e.g., flowerbeds). Drop spreaders are commonly used to de-ice sidewalks and paths because they closely confine the pattern of dispersal to the width of the device, but in use such machines often prove to be rife with mechanical and functional issues. In addition on icy sidewalks or paths their wheels may not have sufficient traction to drive the dispersing mechanism.
Presently available handheld broadcast spreaders, both electric and hand-cranked, like walk-behind broadcast spreaders, are useless for icy sidewalks and paths because they overspray onto lawns and into streets, etc. Both varieties of broadcast spreaders, handheld and walk-behind, have also the above-noted drawbacks when used for fertilizing and weed control products: the difficulties of achieving even and uniform distribution, and avoiding overspray onto undesirable surfaces. For ice treatment on sidewalks, paths and driveways many homeowners use shaker bottles, which, although cheap and convenient, can easily produce very uneven results.
Even though the above cited dispersion mechanisms meet some of the needs of the market, a hand-held particulate material broadcasting/dispersing skirt and baffle system that detachably attaches to an electric broadcasting mechanism to disperse particles in a controlled, uniform, directional manner within a proximal coverage area while being manipulated with two hands, is desired as a solution suitable for both homeowner and commercial applications.